


CTRL+Shift+Klance

by KidKitt



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: College AU, M/M, Video Game AU, modern day AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:08:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7775476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KidKitt/pseuds/KidKitt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith just transferred to a new colleg, where he planned on getting by with little to no socializing, but almost instantly finds himself enthralled in the virtual world of a mutual game him and his roommate play. His curious spirit pushes him to explore the world of local gaming, having no clue that a guild member of his, Lance, would become one of the closest people in his life. Eventually, Keith develops something he never could've anticipated: a friend circle... and maybe even his first love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Guild

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever! Hope it's worth the read. :) 
> 
> ** idk if this is considered a slow burn... maybe... just let it happen lol

          It was move-in day for the fall semester and Keith was running late. His plan was to be completely moved in by the time his roommate even arrived later that morning, but granted how bad traffic was, that outcome was becoming more and more unlikely with each passing minute. Keith tugged his suitcase behind him sluggishly. _What if he’s already there? Then I’d have to embarrassingly unpack my bags in silence. Or even worse, I’d have to do it while trying to talk to him,_  he thought. He ran through the seemingly inevitable dialogue in his head, “What’s your major? Oh that’s cool. Well, actually I’m undecided, so… _yeah_...” And then of course he’d have to sit through the judgmental silence for having come this far with no decided major. 

          Keith pulled his suitcase up the stairs one step at a time, but had to stop halfway to rest. His breathing had turned into panting and his face was slicked with sweat. He brushed back his bangs and allowed some of the A/C to brush against his forehead. The other students were parading back and forth to their cars for luggage. The seemed to pretend Keith wasn’t there. To them, his dilemma was invisible. He glared each of them up and down as they casually stepped around his exhaustive mess.

          “Fuck it,” Keith grunted. He lifted his suitcase above his head and made a run for the top. His legs burned, but he managed to pull it off. Turns out moving a mouse around a pad doesn’t count as exercise, nor did it help his overall slender physique. He slid to the floor and leaned his head against his suitcase. “What the fuck is the point of a suitcase with wheels if you have to pick it up to get anywhere around here? And more importantly, _why don’t they have an elevator if the building has three floors?_ ” Keith thought. He took a deep breathe once more and rose to stand. His room was just down the hallway. That’s all he had to do, and then he was home… well, for the next 5 months at least.

          He took the key from his pocket and slid it into the door. He twisted it inside the lock, closed his eyes, hoped for the best case. Once he heard the door hit the wall he opened his eyes. This wasn’t the best case scenario at all, it was the worst. The prayer, which was admittedly short, had gone unnoticed. His roommate was completely moved in already and was playing a game on his computer. Keith swallowed a gulp and took the first step into his new room. It smelled like a store, which explained the price tags that were still on almost everything his roommate had moved in. The floors were coated with a light brown carpet that covered the entire dorm, and a window was letting in sunlight from across the room where his roommate was unhealthily absorbed in his game.

          Keith tried to unpack his stuff as quietly as possible to prevent any of the small talk, but his attempts were futile. All it took was un-zipping his suitcase for his new roommate to take notice. His roommate spun around in his office chair and slid the headphones from his ears until it was wrapped around the back of his neck. He perked up from his chair and revealed himself to be what was practically a giant in comparison. “Hey! What’s up?” he called out, extending his hand for a shake. Keith reached out and complied, initially wincing at the tight grip. “I'm Hunk!”

“I'm Keith. How long have you been here?”

“Well, I got here like three hours ago but I didn’t finish setting up until about 30 minutes ago. My guild had a raid this morning, so...”

          Keith tried to peak around Hunk to get a glance at what was on his computer. “What game is that?” he asked.

          “Huh? Oh, you saw. It’s kind of nerdy, but… It’s just some MMORPG that some friends and I play.”

          “It’s Voltron, isn’t it?”

          Hunk looked to his set-up, then back to Keith. “Uh… Yeah, it is. How’d you know?”

          “Because what other MMO’s are people playing these days? Tales of Tallaha? That’s a joke. ToT went to shit after they nerfed rogues a couple patches ago. The Dev’s have their heads so far up their own asses that they don’t even know what makes the game fun anymore. What class do you main?”

          “Paladin,” Hunk shot out. “What about you? What do you main?”  
          “Paladins represent!” Keith yelled. Hunk seemed taken aback.Keith choked back into his normal voice, “Did you mention you were in a guild?”

          “Yeah man. We’re local, too. It’s me and a couple other guys from around the—well, me and some other _friends_ from around the campus. Why? You want in?”

          Keith wanted to answer with a resounding yes, but he stopped and thought about what was happening. He just got there, planned on scraping through the semester with little to no social interaction, accepting whatever grades he could muster, and then heading home for winter break so he wouldn’t have to worry about whatever life had in store for him. Joining a guild would probably mean weekly meetings, which had no place in that plan. And yet he pondered it. It’d be a good idea to keep himself pre-occupied, if anything. There was gonna be a lot of free time in between classes, and he doubted he’d spend all of it doing homework. Socializing seemed inevitable, and if he was gonna do that, then it might as well be centered around something as anti-social as a video game.

          “Yeah, I’m in.”

          “That’s fucking—I mean, that’s freaking awesome, man. We haven’t had a new initiate since last year and our in-game bank has been crippling since our old leader graduated.”

          “Who’s the leader now?” Keith asked, entrapped in his own curious conscious.

          “Uh… well, this might sound weird, but it’s the law professor from building 800. He found out we played and it turns out he’s a huge nerd or something. He had his own guild before leaving to join ours, so he kinda just assumed the role as leader.”

          “Interesting,” Keith said as he unpacked some of his stuff.

          “We have a meeting IRL today around three at the dining hall. If you really wanna join, I can walk over and introduce you to everyone there.”

          “Oh wow, already meeting the family.” He braced himself for the rest of the day and swallowed his pride. “Sure, sounds dope. How many of you are in this guild exactly?”

          “Including you it’s just five of us. The other three are chill,” Hunk assured, “Don’t worry."

 

* * *

 

           They definitely weren't chill. After un-loading his stuff, Keith followed Hunk down to the dining hall for the guild meetup. Keith was given a half-assed tour as they walked through the unnecessarily large campus. From an outsiders perspective, the ancient grounds looked like a castle. The insides, however, were decorated with modern interior and up-to-date technology to match the quick lifestyle of a student. The dining hall was filled with people seated as every table, all eating and chatting among themselves. Loudly. Keith was overwhelmed by the masses at first. The combined cacophony of students talking and the scent of the mismatched foods were making him nauseous. After scouting the area for a while at the entrance, Hunk found their crew sitting at a table in the back corner of the hall and made his way over.

          Keith chased Hunk over to the table where the guild was sitting. They made a peculiar bunch of geeks under closer examination. There was Hunk, a giant among common men. A smaller, strawberry blonde specimen with short hair and glasses -- who seemed to be at least twelve years old -- sat next to Hunk almost as if it was for the sole reason of juxtaposition. To right of the twelve year old was what appeared to be a middle aged man with gray bangs swooping over his forehead, which led Keith to assume he was the law professor and de facto leader of this ragtag group of misfits. Lastly there was what looked like a normal college student. He had short brown hair, tan skin, and sported a green jacket and jeans. 

          Hunk finally spoke up after pulling in two seats for them. “Guys, this is Keith. He wants to join the Knights of Valor and I figured I might as well bring him over.”

          The short-haired kid looked up from their 3DS and glared at Keith through their glasses. “Class?”

          Keith swallowed a gulp. “Paladin.”

          The teacher spoke up, “What level?”

          “Only thirty three, but—

          “Thirty three is better than Hunk,” the 12 year old retorted.

          “When you work two jobs, go to five classes a week, and spend the summer with no wi-fi, _then_ you can complain about my level.” Hunk folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. 

          “Excuse us,” the professor interrupted. “I’m assuming you already know Hunk, so let me introduce you to Pidge and Lance. I’m Professor Shirogane, but I just go by Shiro in game… and out of it, usually.”  

        The brunette, who Keith was introduced to as Lance, looked up at Keith and studied him intently. He seemed fixated on judging Keith. Pidge, however, failed to look up from their game, which they seemed intent on finishing. Shiro seemed unsure of what to do, so to end the silence, he asked Hunk to go grab them some food while he went to the bathroom. “Talk among yourselves,” he said before abandoning ship.

          “So… Pidge, is it? Does your older sibling go here or something?”

          “Huh?” the kid called out, finally breaking their attention away from the game.

          “I said, does your older –

          “Low battery!?” Pidge almost fell out of their chair as they charged for the outlet a couple feet away. “No no no no,” they chanted rhythmically, “I’m so close! Don’t die on me yet!”

          “They graduated from highschool early.”

          Keith glanced to Lance for clarification. “So… they actually go here? How old are they?”

          “Seventeen.”

Keith’s jaw dropped.

          “I know, I know. Same reaction from me,” Lance said. He cleared his throat, “So if I flip a coin right now, what are my chances of getting head?”

          Keith blankly stared at Lance, who was grinning and raising an eyebrow. “Did you just read that from your phone?”

          “What?! No,” Lance sheepishly retorted, “Why would you even – never mind. No, I wasn’t.”

          Keith glanced down at his cell, almost cringing from second hand embarrassment. “You didn’t lock your phone before we sat down.”

          Lance turned his attention to his phone and stared at it for a minute. His confident composure dimmed to a fluster as he quickly pressed the lock button.

          “Let me try again,” he blurted out, returning once more to his suave alter ego. “If I followed you home,” he said, leaning in on one arm, “would you keep me?”

          Keith's face turned pink. Not because Lance’s pick-up lines were working, but because they were particularly bad. “That doesn’t make sense,” Keith said, “we live on the same campus… Do these usually work?”

          Lance sighed, “I knew you were straight… whatever." 

          “Good one,” Keith whispered in a breath.

          Lance heard him. “You’re not?”

          Keith shook his head. 

          “That’s… _interesting_ ,” Lance said, striking what was apparently go-to flirtatious stance once more.

          Keith sunk into his chair. It was becoming more and more apparent what made Lance fit in with the rest of the guild. “No, it’s not.” He buried his hands in his pockets and hoped that this would end soon. Shiro came back at the same time as Hunk, who was carrying a box of pizza, and sat in their respective chairs.

          “Did we miss anything?”

          Lance's blushed complexion began to mirror Keith's.

          “Lance is gay for Keith,” Pidge called out from the floor.

          Shiro and Hunk turned their attention to Keith.

          “Oh shit,” Lance blurted out, “pizza!”

         

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope anybody who reads this enjoyed it even a little bit! :) edited 8/4/17


	2. Movie 'Knight'

            It finally happened. Somebody finally asked Keith the question. It happened while he was slouched over at a cubicle in the library, trying to take an online quiz on one of the syllabuses he got Monday. His nose was buried deep in the cubicle walls and out of sight. The librarian found herself glancing over Keith’s shoulder. She stood tall and confident in her dark blue heels and black pencil skirt. A white button up was tucked in and smacked somewhere on her chest was a name tag that read Allura.

            She extended her reach and tapped Keith on the shoulder, “Is there anything I can help you with?” 

            Keith spun around. “No, I’m good.”

            The librarian’s smile widened when she saw “EUH 1033 SYLLABUS QUIZ” at the top of the document. “This is for European History in building 600, isn’t it?” Allura asked, fully knowing the answer to her question.

            “Yeah, it’s just for the syllabus.”

            “Well I majored in History too, so if you need any help just give me a holler, all right?” Allura promptly tuned around and carried on with her routine walk.

            Keith could’ve just let her walk away, but he figured he’d be in here more often than not throughout the year, so it was best to keep things straight. “I’m not a History major,” he called out.

            She turned around. “You’re not?”

            Keith realized what was happening. 

            “Then… what _is_ your major?”

            Keith anticipated the awkward exchange, or therefore lack of, that would follow soon after his answer. “I’m actually still undecided."

            Allura didn’t know how to respond. He watched her face cycle through a wide range of emotions in a short amount of time. From speechless, to confused, to worried, to confused again. “Well,” she finally broke, “I’m sure you can find one on the database we have.”

            “Database?”

            “For potential career paths. It evaluates your interests and your ideal pay-rate to compile a list of careers that might best suite your life style. Just go to the school website, hover over students, and click on Career Test.”

            Keith hadn’t even considered that. Hell, he didn’t even know they had one of those. Before he could respond to her, a faint humming noise beamed from his backpack. He reached deep into his bag and pulled out his phone to see what it was.

            **Roommate (Hunk)** _6:13 pm_

_Hey, where are you?_

            “Library. Why?” Keith sent back

 **Roommate (Hunk _)_** _6:15 pm_

_Oops. Forgot to tell you that Wednesday night is “Movie Knight” for the Knights of Valor. Meet at Lance’s in 10?_

            Keith pressed the tip of his cell against his forehead. Of course they meet at Lance’s place every week. Where else would they meet? Somewhere where Keith would feel at ease? _No, that’d be too easy_ , he thought. Keith packed his syllabus and folder into his backpack, responding “omw” to Hunk as he left the library. “Thank you for the tip!” he called out to Allura. She raised her hand and twiddled her fingers.     

            It was dark out and Keith noticed the ground was wet. He glanced upwards to see what was in store, and it didn’t look good. The sky was completely gray, save only for a small patch in the far distance, and a small drop of rain dripped onto his cheek. And then two more followed by four more, this time quicker and harder. By the time Keith was able to start running it had already started to rain without mercy. As he gained in speed, the rain gained in intensity. Keith sprinted and made a break for Lance’s dorm on the other side of the campus.

            Keith’s cotton sweater absorbed the raindrops like a sponge and it flopped against his chest as he bolted along the sidewalk. He tried to hide his backpack under the front of his shirt, but it was no safer under there. The rain was frigid and fell hard against his skin, motivating him to only run that much faster. Even after he made it inside the building, he still had to suffer through the A/C that was fogging up the windows. He trekked up the stairs to the second floor of Lance’s dormitory and knocked on the door. A trail of water dripped behind Keith as he wandered through the halls.

            Lance greeted him at the door. “What the hell happened to you?”

            “Just don’t,” Keith forcibly tossed his bag into Lance’s arms and stepped around him to get inside.

            “Well, I’d say have a seat but I don’t have any towels right now. Sorry, Aquaman, but you’ll just have to air dry.” Lance closed the door behind Keith, who was shivering in the middle of the room with Pidge’s eyes on him.

            “Can you step away from the outlet?” Pidge motioned towards the wall, where their 3DS charger was plugged in. 

            “Of course, your majesty,” Keith batted at Pidge.

            “Glad you know who’s in charge."

            Lance chimed in, “So where’s Hunk?”

            “I thought he was with you guys?” Keith questioned.

            Pidge looked up from their game. "He texted me."

            “...And?”

            “He’s not coming.”

            Keith stopped for a minute. Hunk told him to meet at Lance's place on abnormally short of a notice, so he dragged his ass through the torrential level 5 hurricane rain to get there. Assuming it was mandatory, of course. Then after getting there, he discovered Hunk wasn't even going to show up to the event he invited Keith to. 

            “You mean… you can do that? You can just _not show up_?”

            Pidge looked concerned. “This is a guild, not a cult. Of course not everyone’s gonna be able to spare a couple hours a week for a movie. It’s no big deal.”

            “No big deal,” Keith imitated,” If I knew it wasn’t a big deal then I wouldn’t have sprinted over here through Hurricane Katrina.” He was fuming, and his fists tightened into a clutch.

            “I have some clothes you could change into,” Lance suggested. It was transparent he was trying to diffuse Keith’s temper. Pidge seemed unbothered by the whole ordeal, and almost instantly returned to their game after Lance spoke up.

  
            Keith turned to Lance, “Where can I change?”

            Lance led Keith to his bedroom and cracked open the door. He plucked out a thin tank top with some obscure band logo on it and a pair of jeans that were probably too tight for both of them to being with. A red jacket was already laying out on the bed. “You don’t need underwear too, do you?”

            Keith thought about it, and dreaded answering with honesty, but the thought of sulking in his soaking briefs made him shiver. “Mine are drenched, so yeah, I probably do.”

            Lance stared expressionless for a second before digging once more through a different drawer. He pulled out a pair of boxers with a Spongebob pattern on them. Lance couldn’t even look at Keith. He hung his head in shame, tossing the clothes on his bed. “I’ll leave you to it,” Lance said as he crept from the room, still avoiding eye contact by all means necessary.

            Keith couldn’t believe it. This grown man had Spongebob patterned underwear and had to let a member of his _online guild_ borrow them for the evening. Reluctantly, Keith slid off his shoes and pulled his shorts to his ankles. He laid them out over a chair so they could hopefully be dry by the time they got back. He pulled his shirt over his head and searched for a place to hang it, but not before he heard the door open. He froze.

            Lance barged into the room without even thinking. “Before you get undressed, can I –” He stopped in his tracks. Lance covered his eyes and quickly apologized. Keith was soaking wet and standing there in only his socks and underwear, which were twice as soaked as he was and heavy from the rain. The embarrassment didn't make Lance leave, but rather stand in the doorway with his hands covering his eyes and apologizing over and over again.           

            “Lance?” Keith interrupted.

            “... Yeah?”

            “ _Leave_.”

            “...Yeah.”

            Lance shut the door quickly and apologized again from the other side. Keith tiptoed over and locked the door before stripping completely nude. When he came out dressed, Lance was sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the TV.

            “Lance?”

            “Yeah?”

            “The TV isn’t on." 

            “… Yeah.”

            Pidge continued to ignore the awkward tension that drifted through the room like a breeze. They were too deeply absorbed in their game, only breaking their focus to occasionally eat a chip. Pidge crushing down on the chips were the only thing preventing the room from being completely silent for the longest 10 minutes of Keith and Lance's lives. Their misery was finally ended by a knock on the door, followed by a muffled Shiro calling out. “Time to go!”

            The three of them rose from the couch, grabbed their stuff, and headed out the door. Lance hadn’t made more noise than a cough or two since he walked in on Keith, and it was clear that he felt bad about it. The situation itself was a pickup line, and yet Lance made no attempt to woo Keith over with his charming demeanor. They routinely piled into Shiro’s car in silence and began their trip the theater. Pidge was in the front seat because they needed the outlet up there to charge their prized 3DS, while Keith was forced to sit in back beside Lance. Thank God Hunk isn’t here, Keith thought. Then they’d be squished against one another, which would’ve only made the night twice as uncomfortable.

            There was no talking in the car ride over. Only the sound of whatever song Shiro was listening to on the radio at the time, which was probably for the best. Keith looked to Lance, who was staring out the window. It was completely dark out now, and the street lights had all flicked on. The lights along the sidewalks showed that all the shrubbery and trees were coated with rain drops. They passed the occasional student, some of which were lucky enough to have had an umbrella, others not so much. Keith was amused at the thought of them all having to borrow Lance's clothes later that day. A smile crept across his face, but no one would notice. 

            Pidge was still smacking the buttons on their 3DS, not even glancing up at the road ahead or trying to fiddle with the radio. Shiro was concentrated on driving and kept his eye on the road attentively. It was only Lance's eyes were glued to the window nearest him. Individually, everyone in the car was so pre-occupied with their thoughts that Keith could observe them without any of them catching on. He turned towards Lance for inspection. With this rare moment of observance, Keith tried to guess what Lance was thinking of right now. Presumably it was what happened back at his place, but his expression seemed to solemn for even that

            Shiro pulled his keys from the ignition and the radio flicked off, which cued Pidge and Lance it was time to get out. The gang strolled towards the theatre, passing by all the larger than life signs that displayed which movies were showing. “Which are we seeing again?” Pidge asked, finally interested in something other than their game. Shiro gestured towards one of the posters with a gun-wielding action hero on it. Pidge strolled over for a closer look. “This is rated R..."

            “And?”

            “And I’m only 17, so unless any of you prepared a fake I.D. for me..." 

            Shiro’s palm smacked against his forehead. Lance raised his hands to the back of his head, raising his shirt slightly. “Well,” Shiro finally responded, “Since I’m the adult here, I’ll just stay outside with them. You guys can head in.”

            Lance was clearly uncomfortable with the prospect of being alone with the person he just saw half-nude. Keith sought out to ease his discomfort. “I guess that’ll work. No big deal, right, Pidge?”

            “Yeah. We can just go get ice cream across the street while we wait on you guys.”

            Shiro nodded and Lance sported a half-smile in agreement.

            “All right, see you guys in a little bit!” Keith called out. He put his hand on Lance’s shoulder as the two groups separated and leaned in. “You okay?”

            Lance turned to him. “Yeah. I’m good... sorry, again." 

            Keith smiled. “It’s fine, dude. No big deal, I promise.”

            Lance met Keith’s smile and kind gesture with a light hearted laugh. They strolled up to the box office and ordered their tickets. After finding a seat in the theater, they sat down next to one another and prepared for the movie.

            “You know,” Lance chimed in, “I wasn’t gonna say this, but since you said it was fine… I feel like I have to get it off my chest now.”

            Keith embraced for whatever was coming next. “What is it?”

            “Usually when people’s underwear end up on my floor it’s not until after the first date.”

            The smile across both of their faces broke when Keith snorted and giggled a little bit. “That one was better. When'd you think of that?”

            “On the car ride over. It was all I could think of staring out the window.”

            Keith laughed a little harder. “You’re a dork,” Keith punched Lance’s shoulder. "I thought you were having a moment."

            The two of them shared a laugh again before the lights dimmed and everyone in the theater settled down. As the title screen rolled against the roaring soundtrack, Keith felt at ease. This wasn't really a good start to his planned semester of invisibility, but it wasn't terrible either. Next to Lance, Keith felt like he was home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone leaving kudos and comments :) edited 8/4/17


	3. Log in a Lake

**Lance 11:40 am**

_The courtyard. An hour. Bring your bike._

 

**Keith 11:50 am**

_For what?_

 

**Lance 11:51 am**

_doesn’t matter_

 

**Keith 11:55 am**

_Well I dont have a bike, so…_

 

**Lance 11:57 am**

_ugh of course. nvm I’ll pick you up at 1._

 

               The library was getting busier by the minute and it was becoming increasingly difficult to get work done with all the chatter. Keith peaked over his cubicle and looked for Allura, scanning the room until he found her. She was running around like a maniac trying to help all the students. She must’ve been the only one working here at the rate she was going. No one human could run this place on a busy day, but she’d been doing it for God knows how long.

               Keith slid his phone into his pocket and moved the mouse to exit the browser. For a moment, he felt bad leaving in the middle of a survey that was meant to help him choose a career, but it’s not like he could change anything during the semester anyways. Keith packed his textbooks back into his backpack and slung one of the straps over his shoulder. The second he stood up, another student quickly ran over and snatched his seat. He took a moment before leaving to watch Allura shift her focus from one student to another. A boy who was raising his hand started tapping his feet rapidly. He cleared his throat loud enough for Allura to hear and change her focus to him. Keith felt bad for her. He wondered if she got “librarian” on her career survey. He even wondered if she ever came to regret its advice. 

               The weather out was much nicer than the last time Keith left the library. The sun was beaming down and made the white sidewalk hard to look at. Everything was so brightly colored that the light reflecting off the surface made it blinding. Keith squinted his eyes and raised his hands to his forehead to make a visor. The vines that were growing alongside some of the buildings made the college feel more like a castle. They weaved through the brick pattern, like snakes slowly climbing up the wall.

Keith could hear water flowing from the water fountain on the other side of the library. Hunk told him about this time when Pidge dared Lance to jump into it, and how Lance did it before Pidge even told him that he’d get a reward for doing it. Hunk said that Pidge had kept that part to themselves after watching Lance eagerly leap into the shallow waters. It must’ve been a scorching day like this to convince anyone to jump into water that grimy.

               The sidewalks that connected the buildings curved around small hills that had trees at the top of them. Under the trees were students sitting in the grass with their textbooks and laptops out, talking among themselves in their groups. Keith recognized one of the groups as students from his European History class. They must’ve formed a study group. He thought about waving, but he’d never really talked to anyone outside of the guild since he checked into his dorm.

               Keith entered the first floor of his dormitory and saw two men emerge from an elevator. Keith flattened his eyebrows and hunched over. It would’ve been nice to have known about that when moving in, he thought. Nonetheless, Keith stepped in after the two men left and rode it up to the third floor. When the doors opened, he was greeted by Hunk who had been waiting for the elevator himself.

               “Oh, hey Hunk.” Keith smiled and stepped out.

               “Hey. Uh, I was gonna text you but… I’ll just tell you now. Something came up with my family, so I’ll be gone for a couple days.”

               “Is everything okay?” Keith stepped around Hunk, who was already stepping into the elevator.

               “I’ll text you about it more in-depth later or something, but I’m in a rush for now.” Hunk pressed the button for the first floor. “Tell the guild for me, will ya?” He faked a smile for Keith as the doors shut.

               Keith put his key into the door and pushed it open. The room was quiet for the first time since he got there. He recalled how he prayed that the room would be empty when he first got there, but now that he got his wish it just felt… off. Keith changed from his sweater and jeans into a short-sleeved shirt and shorts to match the heat outside. He heard his phone vibrate from the pocket of his jeans and he reached to pull it out.

**Lance 12:30 pm**

_I recommend a bathing suit for today. ; )_

 

**Keith 12:30 pm**

_Sorry, not jumping into any fountains today._

 

**Lance 12:32 pm**

_… either you’re a psychic, a time traveler, or Pidge is a brat._

 

               Keith laughed a little and thought back to how funny Hunk was telling that story. Then he thought about his weird behavior was just then. Whatever’s going on, Keith thought, it must be bad.

 

**Lance 12:33 pm**

_btw Im outside sooooo come out if you’re ready_

 

               Lance was leaning against the walls of Keith’s dormitory with his bicycle. His bathing suit was a little too short for him but he didn’t really mind showing off his body. He radiated confidence and it influenced the room whenever he walked in.

               “You’re a little early, y’know?”

               “Yeah, but I figured you’d be eager to get going on our adventure today.” Lance smiled and kicked the stand of his bike up.

               Keith rose an eyebrow. “Adventure?”

               “Yup! Hop on the back and enjoy the view.”

               “Not much of a view around here.”

               Lance flicked his sunglasses from the top of his head onto his face. “Don’t worry, my best angle is from behind.”

               Keith rolled his eyes and placed his feet on the back bars near the rear tire. He placed his hands on Lance’s shoulders to hold on to for the ride and they took off. Lance sped along the sidewalks and crossed through the courtyard. They rode past the tennis courts and jetted by Lance’s dormitory.

               “Where are we going?” Keith yelled.

               “You’ll see.”

               They continued to fly through the school entrance and onto the sidewalk that ran alongside the road. They kept biking in silence for a couple of minutes at top speed before Lance pivoted and went into the grass. Keith gripped Lance tighter and prayed for the best. They pedaled through the assortment of tall grass and weeds for a tree line in the distance. They left a trail of trampled grass behind them. When they got to the trees, Lance stopped and they hopped off. Lance let his bike fall into the grass, obviously not worried about anybody taking it.

               “We do the rest by foot.” Lance reached into his backpack and pulled out a water bottle. He squirted some into his mouth and gestured towards Keith as an offering.

               “No thanks, the ride was nice for me.”

               Lance laughed and choked a little bit on his water. “I’m surprised! You were working so hard from the back of the bike.”

               They shared a chuckle before Lance motioned for Keith to follow him. He began to run into the woods and their path eventually turned into a small trail. Keith chased him to the best of his ability but it was hard to keep up with his long legs. It wasn’t long though until Lance stopped and propped his hands on his hips in pride.

               “We’re here!” Lance turned to Keith. “What do you think?”

               Keith leaned to the side so he could see around Lance. It was a small lake with a tree that had half-fallen extending almost out to the center. A small family of ducks swam by adjacent to them on the other side of the pond. The surrounding trees provided much needed shade. Lance set his backpack down in the dirt and pulled out a towel. He laid it down near the water and pulled his shirt off, throwing it onto the towel.

               “It looks nice.”

               “Yeah, well it gets better. Nobody knows about this place.”

               Keith’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

               “Yup. Just you and me.”

               “Then who built the trail?” Keith folded his arms.

               “I did. Mostly for you, because I kinda guessed you weren’t in the mood to climb through some weeds.”

               “Good guess,” Keith laughed and playfully pushed Lance's shoulder.

               Lance crouched near the water and splashed Keith. Their combined laughter eventually scared the family of ducks away. Lance stopped splashing and stared at Keith puzzled.

               “Uhh… See anything you like?” Keith nervously asked. 

               “Where’s your bathing suit?”

               Keith paused and scratched the back of his head. "Uh... bathing suit?" 

               “I texted you!”

               “I know, I know! But then you showed up like 4 minutes later. I didn’t think to grab it— I didn’t wanna keep you waiting.” Keith sat on the towel and lowered his head.

               Lance sat next to him. They were both quiet for a minute before Lance chimed in.

               “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen you in your underwear.”

               He quickly stood up and ran into the water. Keith’s eyes widened and his face turned red. He felt bad about not having his bathing suit, but that didn’t mean he was willing to strip. He watched from shore as Lance swam out to the center of the lake. By now, the ducks had retreated into the woods somewhere opposite of them, but their faint quacks could still be heard.

               “The water feels great!” Lance called out, waving to Keith.

               Keith stood up and walked away. He vanished into the thick woods surrounding them without saying anything, leaving Lance by himself. 

               “Keith?... Where’d ya go, buddy?”

               Lance began to swim to shore, but before he made it back Keith emerged from the woods. He was stripped to his boxers and tossed his clothes next to Lance’s on the towel. Lance’s face was completely submerged in the water except for his eyes. They stared expressionless at each other for a beat. Keith eased himself into the water until it went up to his waist before stopping.

               “What’s wrong?”

               “I… I uh…” Keith sat on his knees so the brackish water went up to his chin. “I don’t know how to swim.”

               Lance swam over and kneeled next to him. “That’s okay,” his voice was soft. Lance placed his arm around Keith and pulled him in closer to him. “I can teach you!”

               “What?” Keith watched as Lance walked to shore and ran to the tree that was half-way fallen. “Lance, what are you doing?”

               Lance looked around for a minute before bending over and picking something up. Keith squinted to see what it was. When Lance turned around, he lifted a log above his head and paraded it. “This should work!” he ran back to the water with the log and tossed it in front of Keith. The log sank in the water from being tossed so carelessly, but immediately floated back up. “Now you can learn.”

               “Lance, I –

               “am going to learn how to swim? I agree.” Lance smirked and tugged at Keith’s arms.

               Keith willingly succumbed and let Lance pull him deeper into the water until he had to stand on his toes to keep his head above. “Now rest yourself on the log,” Lance instructed. Keith pulled his arms up onto the log and rested his chin on it. Lance pulled the log out to the center of the lake and Keith couldn’t feel the bottom anymore. He was only being kept up by the log and a sense of panic began to settle in.

               “It’s okay. I won’t let you drown. I was a lifeguard for a summer in highschool,” Lance reassured.

               Keith felt a little bit more at ease. “So that’s why you jumped into that fountain last fall? To save a kid from drowning?”

               Lance laughed. “But really,” he pulled himself on the log and leaned in, “who told you that and why was it Pidge?”

               Keith grinned and leaned in. “It was Hunk,” he whispered in Lance’s ears, “but don’t tell the ducks.” He pulled away from Lance’s ears and they both stared at each other. Keith had never been this close to Lance before. He took the silence to analyze Lance’s face. He never noticed that Lance had some faint freckles that decorated his cheeks. Lance bit his lip before letting go of the log.

               Lance floated on his back to Keith’s side of the log. “How’s the handsome bastard doing anyways?”

               Keith re-adjusted his weight to put more on it now that he had it to himself. “I’m not sure. Something came up with his family and he left for the weekend.”

               Lance swam back over to the log and pulled himself onto it, forcing Keith to adjust again. “Do you know what happened?” Lanced leaned in closer than before. “Did he say anything?”

               “No, he just said he was in a rush.” Keith’s voice trailed off as he stared at Lance’s face again. Keith watched his lips move as he spoke. He wandered up to his eyes which were adverted to shore. Then he turned to Keith.

               “He really likes you, you know.” Lance’s forearm was brushing against Keith’s. “We all do. You make a really great addition to the guild.”

               “Thanks.” Keith’s voice fell softer. He couldn’t get his mind straight.

               Lance smiled and looked Keith in the eyes. They stayed that way and everything fell quiet. There was no more splashing. The ducks couldn’t be heard anymore. There was no breeze to shuffle the tree branches. Keith began to wonder, as he did before in the car, what Lance was thinking of. He could never be sure if it was a pick-up line or something else. Lance was enigmatic that way. There was more to him than he let on, Keith thought.

               Lance leaned in and turned his head a little. “Can I?” he whispered. Keith nodded. Lance closed his eyes and slowly leaned in, pressing his lips against Keith’s. His lips were soft. Softer than expected, at least. Keith closed his eyes and pressed against Lance’s lips, harder. They turned their heads and lets their lips find each other again. Lance pulled back and Keith opened his eyes. Their faces were still close enough for Keith to feel the heat from his breath. Keith could see his freckles more clearly now in the sun. No trees could cast a shadow that far into the lake, and the tree that was half fallen had lost its leaves. Lance opened his eyes and stared into Keith’s again. He let go of the log and leaned back so only his eyes were above water. He pushed them back to shore, and the silence that was once beautiful now made it uncomfortable. 

               Once Keith could feel the mud on his feet again, he let go of the log and tapped on it to let Lance know he was good. Lance pulled the log back to shore and set it against a tree. He pulled another two towels out of his backpack and set one on the floor for Keith to dry himself off with. Keith crawled out of the water, still embarrassed to be in his underwear. Lance had his back to him and presumably felt just as uncomfortable. Keith took the initiative and pulled Lance’s towel off him and to the floor.

               Lance spun around. “What are you—

               Keith embraced him in a hug and buried his face into Lance’s shoulder. Lance felt him squeeze tighter before he lowered his hands and placed them around Keith.

               " _Thank you..._ " 

               Lance paused for a beat. “Am I that good of a kisser?”

               Keith grinned and pulled back to look at him. “For the swimming lessons.”

               They both giggled and Keith buried his face again. he could feel Lance opening up, letting go of that enigmatic behavior. Keith knew exactly what he was thinking. 

               “You know, I could let you borrow my underwear again. Yours are a little wet.”

               Keith smirked and pushed him again, this time lighter. “Close your eyes.”

               Lance let his eyes close and Keith stripped his boxers off until he was completely nude. They were dripping wet, so Keith hung them on a nearby tree branch to dry. He walked over to the towel and picked up his clothes. He pulled his shorts up from his ankles and slid his shirt over his shoulders. He walked over to Lance, who still had his eyes closed, and leaned in. “You didn’t peak, did you?”

               Lance opened one of his eyes and looked at Keith. “Would you be mad if I did?”

               “Well, the standard for our boundaries are already ridiculously low, so...” Keith stepped back and rubbed his eye.

               “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

               Yeah,” Keith smirked and tossed Lance’s shirt to him. “Next time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy heck it's been a year since my last post and this one is #steamyyyy! also yay Hunk story line! thank you to everyone whos read this so far :) Im gonna try to update this regularly so stay tuned


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